


Lost You Once, Found You Again

by Galdr



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: AU sort of, time-travel-ish shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-16 17:40:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8111431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galdr/pseuds/Galdr
Summary: Post-Conquest route. "We lost our siblings to the Nohrians. Our long lost sister came back, but the brother never returned. The one that returned left us again to join Nohr. Our country is suffering because of the invasion... To this day, I still miss my younger brother. What has Nohr done to him? Where is he? Where can we find him? Is he...still alive?" - Hinoka





	1. The Cold Never Sleeps

_“…ster! I m…e…th…d…l…f…r…ou!”_

_“It’s…utiful…ove it.”_

_“Rea…ly?!”_

_“Of…urse…o! I love you too, Takumi.”_

_“I love you, Sister.”_

Little hands grasped another pair of hands tightly. The sound of giggling children could be heard. It was a moment of pure bliss. Everything was mostly hazy, except for the reddish color of the girl’s eyes. Her voice was pretty.

_“Takumi…don’t…get…ining with…oma.”_

_“I won’t Mother. Big…ther…elping me!”_

The gentle touch of a mother placing her hand on the child’s shoulders. All that could be seen was the comforting smile of her lips, curled just for the child, the beauty mark underneath them on the left-hand side of her face. She was lovely.

_“…tting better Takumi. I’m pro…f…u.”_

_“Thanks Brother.”_

The colors meshed and mashed together, of reds, whites and browns. The gray of the older boy’s eyes were focused on the child. The short but wild mop of brown that stood as the boy’s hair was recognizable. It showed power and he felt safe under the boy’s gaze.

_“Let me…ur hair…kumi.”_

_“No way…noka! …rin…ly…ne…o…n brush it! I…sh your hair!”_

_“Hee-hee, okay. …u ca…bru…t. We’ll…sit…ura…ter…ay?”_

_“Yeah! Ok…g…ster!”_

Her burning red hair was constant with her amber-colored eyes. It stood out notably and her voice was a little rugged, but she was still a pretty girl. She also made him feel safe. Her smile was reassuring. Seeing the snoozing, small babe with the cherry pink hair made him feel protective of her.

_“I’ll sing y…r…rite…ng to…u.”_

_“Th…k…u…zura.”_

Another older girl with ocean blue hair, a necklace around her neck, a melodious voice that would nurse his ears with a beautiful song. It felt reassuring. He felt at peace, he felt a calmness when the words flew out of her mouth and the tune captivated him. He couldn’t understand the words, but the melody was stuck with him.

_“The little mouse…heh…a pleasant surprise…Heh…now…you…die…H…dian…nce! Become…ssel…r…reat…Anankos!”_

A man, had to be, with only blacks and violets clashing together, his grip appearing tight around the child. A ledge was there. A flash of light. The boom of thunder. Where was this?

_“Le…y…other go…u…b…nie!”_

The first girl’s voice was in desperation, fear, terror.

_“…lp me!”_

The child called out, voice muffled by the other noises. They were clogging up all his other senses. Then, the weight shifted. The rough hands that had him had let go. He felt like he was flying, but only downward. Frantic arms waved wildly.

_“Takumi!”_

She screamed. She yelled. She was close…

_“Sister! HELP ME!”_

He screamed. His throat running dry. His fear escalating. He felt her fingers brush against his, faintly. All he could see were the terrified red of her eyes.

_“NO! TAKUMI!”_

Her scream was an anathema to him darkness claimed him…

* * *

 

A frightened gasp escaped his lips as he sat upright in his bed, silver tresses of hair pasted against his sweaty skin. Panting, short breaths taken in and out, the bed sheets gripped tightly in his hands. Light tears had rolled down from his eyes and he shut them. Gritting his teeth, he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to his knees, trying his best to collect himself.

That dream.

Trying to relax his anxiety, he pushed the covers off, swung his legs over the bedside and sat on the edge. One hand instinctively wiped at his forehead, collecting the sweat that had been there and pushing his bangs from his face. When he finally had enough energy, he pushed himself up and swiftly made his way to his bathroom, not bothering to flip the switch and ran the sink water to splash his face. The water was cold and he didn’t mind it. Light filtered in through the small window, giving enough illumination for him to make out a little of his own features in the mirror.

He was a wreck.

“Why does this keep happening…?” He muttered to himself, turning the water off and pushing the remainder of his hair back. “Same dream, over and over. It’s becoming more like a nightmare…” With a few more breaths taken, he straightened up, frowning at his reflection.

The same nightmare occurred almost hauntingly around the same, specific dates in the year, ever since he could remember. At first, he had thought he had seen scary movies or read too many horror novels, but the coincidence in which the dream returned, on the same days every year, was extremely suspicious. It had taken him until junior high school years that he recorded the dates down.

May 1st, he would have haunting dreams of a young boy with wild, brown hair and strong, but caring grey eyes.

August 18th, the dream would be about a red-haired girl with similar shade of eyes he had.

April 9th, only a faint image of an infant girl, sleeping soundly, with cherry pink hair would arise.

March 3rd, the singing, blue-haired girl would come and her familiar tune would put him at ease and distress simultaneously.

February 19th, the worst of them all, is when he’d see that girl with the reddish eyes. One moment they would be gleaming in happiness, the next, they would be filled with terror. Her voice he could hear a little clearer.

All these dreams would come together collectively on or around his birthday, December 14th, where he would “live” them out, one by one, and then the last thing his dream-self would know, he was falling. Falling out of the sky or somewhere, he couldn’t detail, but it always ended up that way. The menacing laughter of a villainous madman was always present then, too. The scream of the red-eyed girl he could heard every time. Then the darkness would encapsulate him, smother him, trapping him until it scared him enough to wake up.

He would always wake in cold sweat, out of breath, anxiously shaking with dread and a terrible, chronic migraine to boot.

This time was no different. Today, it was December 9th, so practically near the accursed day. No wonder they were plaguing him.

Palming his face, he sniffed once and sighed deeply. “Gods… What am I going to do about it this time?” This was the same question he asked himself for the past two years since he began college. He went into his medicine cabinet and fetched his prescription pills to take one for his migraine. He’s seen a psychiatrist a few times in his youth and while it helped somewhat, it didn’t work completely. When it had no effect on him any longer as he aged, he stopped going to the appointments and just kept trudging through life as it threw itself on him.

He often wondered if the migraines and these dreams were a curse or a punishment for him for forgetting everything but his name.

There was no point in dwelling on it now.

Once the pill was down, he left the restroom and glanced lazily at his alarm clock. 3:52 AM. He normally rose at five in the morning, but considering the nightmarish plague, it looked like he wouldn’t be going back to sleep anytime soon. At times like this, a good jog around the park would do him some good. It might even help him relax and eventually he’ll get tired enough to collapse and fall back asleep. That’s what he hoped for. After deciding that, he got to work on removing his night clothes and slipping on a pair of sweats and sneakers, tying up his strange, silver hair into a ponytail. Making sure he grabbed his cell and keys, he departed his living quarters.

Yes, a good jog out where an inch of a layer of snow coated the ground, painting it with a whitish-grey canvas. It wasn’t snowing outside, although dew and a light sprinkle greeted him when he exited.

As he bypassed many homes and parked cars, his mind began to wander. How he wished he could remember more of his past than what he could recall now. Those constant dreams he kept having made him suspicious of possible past memories that were trying to reach out to him but were blocked out by something. He wasn’t sure if he was voluntarily trying to block them, but he was sure he _wanted_ to know them. Did his mind think he was far too fragile to know the truth? He wanted to have them. They were likely the only connection to anything about him that was missing from his life.

Ever since that day twelve years ago, he had been found, badly injured by police and rushed to the hospital for emergency care. They said he had been dropped from a long distance and then dragged around for some time. It had been a miracle he was still alive and even more that he faintly recalled his own name. Anything else after that, was a bizarre mystery. No one, not even the smartest investigators, could solve the puzzle that encapsulated him. Regardless, after being cleared from care once recovered completely, he was put in foster care, where he was eventually adopted into the family, Matsuba.

That’s where he grew up, without much of a care of his faint and missing past. He had an older brother, Isao; an older sister, Mie; and another younger sister, Nene. Since he was a few years older than Nene, he was the second youngest but third oldest of the family of six. They welcomed him with open arms, loved him, cared for him and allowed him to get an education. The first they did was knock the strange dialect out of him—or tried to. The way he had used to speak was ancient, outdated. Though majority of it was overridden by his new way of speaking, his second language, he often recalled his older, Mother tongue and spoke.

No one in the city knew how to translate him when he used it, so he prided himself on being (probably) the only one who could speak it. However, a history instructor at his college faintly recognized the dialect as of the ancient tongue of their ancestors of the past.

The past Hoshido.

However, a modern language had taken over since the conquest of ancient Hoshido several centuries ago by the ancient Nohrians. The last known and documented Hoshidan to speak of the language died a hundred years prior to his birth. It was a shame, he casually had thought. Would have been nice to hold a conversation with something he was familiar with. Shaking from those thoughts though, he wandered back to the present.

Back then, in those days, magic and divinity were present as well as magical weapons. There were rumors of a dragon or two, but who knew if it were real or not? While he was immersed in the detail, he often wondered if most of it was true or made up. Then again, one of the sacred relics of Hoshido, the Raijinto, was still around. It was said that it would call upon its own master. Its last known and recorded master had been the son of the fallen High Prince of Hoshido, who had been slain in the conquest of ancient Hoshido. That son’s name is actually the name of the current, capital city in the country of New Hoshido, the one he lived in: Shiro City. It was of honor to his efforts of paving a bright future for the remnants of his nation before being assassinated by rebel Nohrians.

The country of New Nohr had its own relics; the sword Siegfried and the tome Brynhildr. Two other artifacts of Hoshido had been lost to history and time, never recovered. The bow, Fujin Yumi and the sacred blade, Yato.

It was strange, when he learned those in history class that those two would be missing. The wielder of Yato was the one who led the invasion of Hoshido, so it should have wound up in New Nohr’s possession. Huffing, he continued his pacing; he’d seen stranger things. He wouldn’t be surprised if someone had eventually found either of those relics.

Just as he was turning towards the park, passively and not paying much attention to his trek, he stumbled over his foot. However, as he tried to regain his footing, he tripped over _something_. With an unceremonious gasp and thud to the ground, he groaned and sat up, glaring at whatever he tripped over. Likely some stupid rock that he would kick out of the way—

—Or a person that was just lying on the ground! Probably some homeless Nohrian.

 _You’ve gotta be kidding me,_ he thought bitterly and knelt next to the obvious homeless Nohrian and shook their shoulders. “Hey! Wake up! This isn’t a good place to be lying around, especially if it’s cold and snowing out.” He nudged them, frowning when there was no response. This person was dressed weird, but he didn’t have time to assess their outfit when he was busy trying to wake them. Nothing he did had any effect and he was growing a little concerned for their well-being. Getting sick from the cold weather was not a good idea.

What to do…

He _could_ be an asshole and just leave them here and continue on his merry way. Or, he could be a good guy and try to get them some help. The nearest help was literally ten miles away. He didn’t have his moped, but he did have his cell. This was definitely some kind of emergency, too. After a quick, mental debate, he popped out said cell and dialed for the ambulance.

“You better thank me later for this…” He muttered to himself to the unconscious person.

…Little did he know, the person faintly had heard him.


	2. The Emotion Never Died

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You guys are free to give constructive criticism anytime. Or comments. Thanks for the kudos and hits, though. Hope you've enjoyed the pilot chapter. So, as Chrom says: "Have another!"

_“Kamui!”_

_“Hinoka, please stay back. I don’t want to hurt you!”_

_“I won’t! Kamui, why… Why did you side with Nohr? They have taken you from us once already! The Nohrians have taken Takumi from us too, my little brother! I can’t… I can’t let them take you from us again! I won’t lose anymore siblings to the Nohrian scum! I won’t!”_

_“Hinoka…”_

_“If I have to strike you down and drag you back, then I will. And then I will demand for Takumi to be returned to us!”_

_“No one by that name exists in Nohr, I guarantee you that, Hoshidan Princess. If anyone with the name of a Hoshidan Prince was living in Nohr, they would have been captured long ago and killed. You’re sadly wasting your time.”_

_“Leo?!”_

_“Ha! Just the thing Nohrians would say to keep a Hoshidan Prince captive! You’re lying, I know it. Takumi is alive somewhere in that place you call a kingdom and I won’t stop fighting until I find him. Give back my brother and sister! Give them back to me!”_

* * *

He waited patiently in the designated waiting room, holding a plastic cup of water. It had been longer than an hour since the ambulance arrived and had taken them to Shiro City’s hospital. His left sleeve was rolled up to the elbow, a gauze tape wrapped around it with a cotton ball placed in the crook of the elbow; it was where they had drawn blood from him much earlier. The oddly dressed person he had found collapsed turned out to be woman and she had lost a good amount of blood that she needed a transfusion. This time of the year, the hospital was usually busy, no thanks to the weather changing conditions and coming by someone with O negative blood type was particularly hard.

Maybe it was by luck that he didn’t immediately leave after the police incident report and shared the same blood type. Not only that, he voluntarily allowed it. If he could save a life, that’s all that mattered, even if she appeared Nohrian.

After they had taken the necessary pint of blood from him, he was free to go, but he refused and stayed to wait for the patient’s recovery. She wasn’t in any critical condition thankfully. They wouldn’t deduce her injuries to him as he wasn’t related to her in any way, and it was a patient-doctor confidentiality at this point until she was all right. He understood and he waited.

The hour or so passed by uneventfully, and he had his mind wandering into different directions during the waiting period. From his family, to his classes to the woman he found.

“Mr. Matsuba?” A voice called out to him, snapping him out of his thoughtful daze. He saw a female nurse approaching him. He stood up from his chair, hoping the nurse had good news for the stranger.

“Yes? How is she? Is she going to make it?”

“Yes, Mr. Matsuba,” the nurse started with the good news first, “Your timely actions had given her a chance. She’s well and recovering in her room.” A sigh of relief escaped him before he realized it. “We believe she’ll awaken soon.”

“That’s good.” _Really good,_ he added the last bit to himself. He seemed a little hesitant with the next part, “Is it all right if I see her before I leave? You know, just to make sure she’s okay?”

“Certainly. I’d think she would want to wake up and see her savior. We’ll let you know when she wakes up. There’s, unfortunately, some other business we need to attend to first.”

This caught his attention and it didn’t sound good. “Is there something wrong?”

“Normally this is patient-doctor secrecy, however, we were unable to find the patient’s identification card. In fact, in that odd getup she was wearing, there was nothing of the sort in her garments. No ID, nothing to identify her with. All she had was a strange-looking rock and an odd book in her possessions and what appeared to be medicine for wounds.” He hummed in thought as she continued revealing more information, “Her appearance didn’t turn up anything. As her rescuer, we believed you might know something of her, a name perhaps, that we can identify her with.”

A moment of silence before he responded, “Sorry, I don’t know anything about her either.” _That would have been the first thing to say if I did,_ he thought. The nurse nodded in understanding.

“I see. Well, we’ll have to wait until she wakes up and hopefully we can get her information from her that way. Perhaps she had lost her ID in the snow out there. Let’s hope for the best.”

That’s all they could do for now. With a nod, he watched as the nurse turned and left down the hall and he sat back down in his seat, returning to his thoughts and processing the new information thoroughly. How would he greet her anyway? What would he say? What would she say? He hoped he wouldn’t goof up. Glancing to the nearby clock, he saw that it was 5:52 AM.

“Looks like I’m not going to class today,” he mumbled and sighed. At least he had a good reason not to.

* * *

_“Hey, Azura. Thanks for staying at my side this whole time.”_

_“You’re welcome, Kamui. Thank you for allowing me to stand beside you and for having a shoulder to lean on. It was hard, this whole experience, but in the end, we have accomplished our duty.”_

_“Of course. But, uh, Azura. If it’s not too much trouble, I have a question I think you can answer for me.”_

_“Hm? What is it?”_

_“Did… Was there ever a Hoshidan sibling of ours named ‘Takumi’? Hinoka mentioned him before when we fought against her forces during Notre Sagesse’s Sevenfold Sanctuary. She claimed that Nohr had kidnapped him, too. The thing is, Leo countered that no one with that name ever resided in the country. If there’s any chance you know about him, what was he like, do you know?”_

_“…Yes. I remember him. Takumi was younger than the both of us by a couple years. I was told he was kidnapped in a similar manner as I was by Nohrians. It had been tragically a year after you were taken, if I recall Ryoma’s words. It was the second reason Queen Mikoto finally erected that barrier after your disappearance. I had only gotten to know him very briefly before he was taken away… He was a kind, caring child that was always fond of the yumi and Queen Mikoto. I had only known him for a year after my own abduction, unfortunately. Ryoma had told me stories about him, mainly about Takumi having a particular fondness of you as young children.”_

_“Really? He sounds so sweet. I wish I could remember him and my other siblings. I’m sure I had such great memories with them. I wonder if he’s still out there somewhere, maybe hidden away like I was…”_

_“…That’s… I fear the worst may have happened to him. I don’t want to wish ill, but it has been years with no news… I’m afraid that King Garon might have already done something to him, especially considering he was a Hoshidan prince. I’m sorry to say this Kamui but I think, maybe, Takumi is likely no longer with us…”_

_“That… That can’t be. I know he’s alive somewhere! Maybe we haven’t looked hard enough. Maybe he survived somehow. We can’t… We can’t give up. If I couldn’t keep Hinoka’s promise to spare Ryoma… The least I can do is try and find Takumi for her and Sakura’s sake. They deserve to be a family. If I… If I can’t be that sister for them, the least I can do is return their missing brother. Azura… Please…”_

* * *

 

The feeling of pain and the spell of dizziness had captured her easier than it normally would. She felt like a log, heavy and motionless. Her recollection was hazy, although, slowly, images and voices of her last memory returned to her. Her senses sluggishly restored as well, one by one. First, touch; her toes were the first thing and she wiggled them as much as she could. She felt a little stiff around her legs and ankles, and especially so with her arms. They felt lethargic when she attempted to move them. With her fingers, however, she felt the soft, plushness of what seemed to be a bed.

That was a good sign.

Next, hearing. Unfortunately because of her stiffness, she couldn’t quite wiggle her ears. Noise filtering through it sounded fuzzy, as if she were still underwater or if water were clogged inside them. After focusing for a few seconds, sound distortion began to lift, agonizingly slow, and she could hear other noises. They sounded like people when they talked, but they seemed so far away. Their footsteps appeared muffled. Someone was walking away, and the way their boots or feet tapped against the ground was a sound she had never heard of before. Rather than the _clop_ sound of someone’s heel against the pavement, it was like a _tip tap_ , a soft pattering of heels on floor.

That was strangely odd.

Next, it was the sense of smell. What her nose picked up on seemed particularly different for some reason. For one, the air felt and smelled odd. Not in a way that was bad just simply unlike what she was used to. The air didn’t carry the scent of the lake she had disappeared under or the humidity of the strange land from beyond it. The air, for another reason of oddity, felt lighter. Not as heavy as before, but she felt like she was floating on a cloud. The other scents lingering around smelled strange, like those herbs used for infections, but far stronger in taste. She couldn’t identify it, unfortunately.

With that in mind, she whirled to her next sense: taste. Whatever was in her mouth, it was extremely bitter and tasteless at the same time. It was like trying to have a sample of her own, terrible tea, without Jakob assisting and putting sugar in it like a previous time. Gone were her taste buds and with slight vigor, she cracked open her eyes. Steadily, she glanced around, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the room she was in. The moment her vision cleared she stifled a gasp. All the walls were white, even the door in the furthest left hand side. She was in an elevated bed of sort, too far from the ground, with her back against an extremely comfortable pillow. Strange things were wrapped around her left arm, some contraption was beeping to her right, and the window, also to the right, were larger than she’s ever seen a window.

Holding in her panic, she tried to think of what to do, where everything was, when she noticed the absence of her armor, sword, and Dragonstone. She also noticed she was in different clothing; it made her feel far too naked, despite it covered her from shoulders to her toes. The stiffness in her body spread out and it was hard to move. This place was unfamiliar to her. Where was her ever-present and loyal butler? Her brothers and sisters? Her friends? Had an enemy captured her and detained her in a different location?

Reaching back to her memories, she recalled herself attending Xander’s coronation, her Hoshidan sisters visiting at the time, and then hearing a beautiful song by a lake in the castle’s garden. She saw her friend Azura, going through the water like that one time when they found Gunter… She chased after the songstress like before… And then… It’s just blank. Those were the only clear memories. Everything else was either fuzzy or she failed to reach them.

It was no use.

 _Where am I? Where is this?_ She wondered to herself. The sound of the door clicked open and she turned her head towards it, waiting anxiously. Entering was a man dressed in what appeared to be a white robe. The clothing underneath was simple, like those commoners would wear, but other things detailed him differently. She wasn’t sure what the instruments or tools he had on him; one around his neck for one, and others in pockets of his. Entering the room after him was a young woman who appeared to be wearing the same attire as he was, and had something in her hand and what looked to be a writing utensil. The man approached her bedside, giving a careful and warm smile. She kept her anxiety down. It was almost like being helped by Kilma of the Ice Tribe, before they made amends. Would this man turn on her after helping her?

The man opened his mouth to speak but the words he spoke… She couldn’t understand him. Blinking, she slightly tilted her head, her expression shifting before landing on befuddlement. He continued speaking to her, tapping her arm, but she couldn’t make heads or tails of what he was saying. So, in an attempt to get him to understand, she replied.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re saying.”

That seemed to settle the man into silence. His brow crinkled a little, a frown upon his face as he seemed to be in thought. He and the young woman exchanged confused looks with another, both in slight shock at whatever they heard from her. What sort of place was she in? Some foreign land that didn’t speak the common tongue? It was bizarre it that were the case. If so, how in the world did she end up here?

The woman tried to speak, but again, she didn’t understand her either. The response she gave was similar. Whatever message they were trying to convey to her didn’t make any sense.

After a moment, the man held up a finger—universal gesture that meant either to quiet down someone or telling them to wait, she guessed it was the latter—and he exited the room. The woman glanced at her worriedly before taking leave with the man, starting to talk with him from outside the room. Their voices eventually grew smaller as they left. What? Frowning herself, she wondered what they were up to or where they were going. What was going on? Once more, silence was her company, as well as the weird noise of the contraption at her side and the odd scents lingering in the air.

As she waited, her thoughts slipped back into her mind, hoping to reach for another memory recall. She had pleaded for Azura to help her find her missing Hoshidan brother, but other than that, it was still a blur, a mess of colors and voices. Then, it was suddenly cold and she guessed she collapsed from some kind of exhaustion. That must mean someone from this place had found her and placed her in some kind of prison.

 _It’s the only explanation I can think of,_ she thought, _That man couldn’t understand me and I couldn’t understand him. I must be in some different country. I need to find a way to get out of here and find my things and return to Nohr…_

Thinking to enact on her decision, she tried to lift her right arm, the one unbound from being tied down and sluggishly moved it over to where the strange, thin wires hugging her left arm were. She tugged at them once and instantly regretted it. Biting back a painful cry, she released them and slanted back into the bed, her entire arm throbbing in agony. Gods, it felt like she was hit by Ryoma’s Raijinto all over again! Hissing and biting her bottom lip, she tried to undo one wire at a time. Her right hand was shaking, due to the prior stiffness and the pain lancing through her body like poison.

Just as she got through with removing two of the many, the door happened to click open once again. Frozen in fear, she looked up from her work, mouth slightly ajar as another man, this one far younger than the other from before, entered the room. His face was set in a neutral expression until it landed on her. Then, it morphed into a slight panic and concern.

Quickly, he left the door and was at her side in two, wide steps, now speaking in that odd language, too. She didn’t know what he was doing, but he detached her right hand from pulling out the other wires. His tone seemed like he was scolding her and she frowned again. Even if she couldn’t understand him, she could sense his meaning. She was looking anywhere but him, his reprimand appearing quite sharp and humiliating to her. When it seemed like he was finished, she repeated the same words she said to the other man.

“I’m sorry, I can’t understand you. I couldn’t understand the other man, either. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone here in this strange place spoke like you…”

Granted, she knew he wouldn’t understand her either and just leave, too. With a sigh, she looked towards the windows, the silence her company once again. She saw the dark clouds outside, a reminiscing manner to her home, Nohr. She didn’t know why the other guy stopped talking or was being quiet. Taking a chance, she looked at him, only to see him looking at her with a strange expression. She couldn’t be sure, but it looked like he understood. That couldn’t be, though. The other man didn’t understand her. Maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her.

“How about now?”

Wait, what?

In a soft cry of shock of disbelief, she sharply focused on him, eyebrows raised past her bangs, and replied quickly. “Y-You understand me?!”

The man stared at her for a few seconds longer before shrugging. “Yeah…” He paused for a moment again then added, “It’s weird that someone else speaks like this. I find it strange that you do, though.”

Now that was puzzling and her expression was clear as day. “However do you mean?”

“This language is kind of outdated, that’s why. It’s pretty much obsolete.”

The brisk and blunt way he answered sent a chill down her spine. The language was outdated? What? That didn’t make any sense. How can a language become obsolete?! Wait, if it is, then how does he know of it? Rather than jumbling her thoughts to herself, she expressed them with her voice. His answer was quite odd, however.

“I don’t really know the answer to that. I just knew how to speak it ever since I was little.” He looked everywhere but at her, finding the chairs stationary in the room and sat down in one of them. Her gaze lingered on him for a while and thinking of what she could say next. If he could understand her and speak that odd language, then he was obviously a native to these lands wherever they were. This could be her chance to gather information. Hopefully he wouldn’t catch on that she was trying to escape other than the previous moment when he first entered. So, she divulged into asking him two specific questions as a start: Where was she? What was this place? His answers puzzled her further.

She was in Shiro City’s hospital in the capital city of Shiro, Hoshido. That last bit made her frown. No, she wasn’t surprised about being in Hoshido—just a little though—but the fact that she didn’t recognize the location _at all_. She had never heard of a “Shiro City” before. In fact, throughout the country of her birth, she hadn’t encountered anything of the sort. The young man’s expression shifted multiple times, from bewilderment to surprise to neutral.

“You’ve seriously never heard of ‘Shiro City’ before?” He asked incredulously, rolling his eyes, “That’s pretty sketchy. What rock have you been living under all this time?”

A sharp frown appeared on her face as she answered bitterly, “A tower, to be honest. I was kept locked up in a tower for most of my life. It’s not like it was my fault.” His response wasn’t immediate. He only raised a brow in curiosity before shaking his head.

“You were held captive against your will for most of your life?”

“…Well, when you put it that way, sort of. But, I had my siblings and caretakers there with me, so it wasn’t always lonely. I enjoyed my time there, but more so outside of it.”

“Tch. Sounds more like Stockholm’s than anything.”

“What was that?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “It was nothing.” He looked at something behind her then stood up and stretched. “Listen, lady. I only came in here to make sure you were all right. I think you should get some rest before the doctors come back.” Those were doctors? They seemed to dress so differently in Hoshido compared to Nohr, apparently. “On the inside, I’m okay you’re okay, so now I can leave and get back home and get some shut eye.”

“…Oh.”

“You know, you should give me a name so I can tell them what it is. No one knows who you are and are simply referring to you as ‘Jane Doe’. Pretty bland name, if you ask me.”

Now _that_ didn’t make any sense. Nearly everyone in Hoshido knew of her. She was the missing Hoshidan princess that had been briefly reunited with her birth mother, Queen Mikoto. She was the reason the queen was dead. She was the reason Hoshido had been conquered in order to reveal the truth that was King Garon. She was the reason Sakura and Hinoka had lost their eldest brother, Ryoma. She was the reason Lilith had sacrificed herself so she could live. Hell, she was probably the reason Takumi was lost to time before anyone could know of him. She was the one chosen by the sacred blade Yato to bring peace to the world. And yet, the path she had chosen, had taken, only led death, destruction and heavy losses. With all that out in the open, and her being unable to return to Hoshido for a while, how could anyone in the country _not_ know of the Traitorous Princess? That’s right. That was her title given to her when she and her Nohrian siblings attended Hinoka’s coronation, weeks after Xander’s. Many spiteful Hoshidans gave her that name, something she deserved. It didn’t make any sense. None of this made sense.

Still, trying to question it when she still had her previous headache going on was a bad idea. She would accept it for now and figure it out later.

“It’s Kamui.”

The young man paused momentarily, staring at her, eyes a little wide. She blinked in response; he appeared to recognize her. That wasn’t hard to do, considering who she was.

“…Kamui? That’s… your name?” He spoke slowly and in disbelief.

“Yeah. It is. What about it?”

He shook his head, grunting and rubbing his chin. “…Nothing. Just nothing. I’ll… tell the doctors of it so they can fill out your information card and put you in the computer system.” She understood a little under half of what he meant. What was a kom-peyu-tar system anyway? She didn’t have time to ask because he was retreating to the only exit of the room. Swiftly, she called out to him.

“Wait!” He stopped, halfway through the door and looked back at her, “Um, sorry. I mean… I want to know your name! I didn’t get it back there when we were introducing ourselves?” It was a weak delivery, but she had to know. Even if he was a little rough around the edges, she wanted to know of him. “And, um, I don’t know the reason why I’m here in this place. Can you tell me?” Maybe he was her ticket out of this hospital. He appeared to ponder the idea first before replying.

“I don’t know the whole reason, but I found you collapsed outside in the snow. I called for help and you were rushed here for treatment. That’s all there is to it,” he looked away shyly as if stating that was embarrassing. “You’re welcome by the way. And… I don’t normally give strangers my name but you seem to be an exception. Consider yourself lucky, Kamui.” He paused again and she waited for him to give it to her, like a child waiting for a new toy. “It’s Takumi Matsuba. Now, don’t try and escape this place. They’ll know and will put you under lock and key. Just stay here and wait for them to clear you out, okay?”

With that, the young man—Takumi—left the room, the door closing and clicking after him. She watched him go with sad eyes. Maybe he would visit her again if she stayed here like he said. Several moments of silence later and she entertained herself with her thoughts once again.

“Takumi Matsuba? Strange name… I could have sworn I heard of something like it before…”

* * *

_“Sister, please don’t leave me. Don’t ever go away.”_

_“Hee-hee, don’t worry, Takumi. I won’t. I’ll always protect you.”_

* * *

 

Leaving the hospital after giving the staff the name of their mysterious patient, he trudged back home to his apartment. He glanced at his cell and grimaced at the time displayed on the screen. Yeah, there was no way in hell he was going to make it to any of his classes today.


	3. The Presence Stays There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

_“…mui! …ch th…!”_

_“Wo…u…sd a…gon…n!”_

_“Yeah! Bro…oma and…ister…Hino…wed me!”_

_“That’s amaz…Tak…! See? You…e…tting…tter every… I’m so proud of you.”_

_“Ka…Th…k…ou!”_

The girl’s smile was radiant and faintly, her face could be seen and some of her features. Her eyes were closed as she was smiling down at the child. Her colorless achromatic hair was kept up in a style he couldn’t recognize. A bun, perhaps? She was dressed in a pink, white and yellow yukata. There were designs on it but he couldn’t make them out. The girl enveloped the child in a hug and giggled. The child returned it back.

_“I lov…u…amui.”_

_“I love…oo…kumi.”_

_“Sister…ase do…eave me…n’t…er go…ay.”_

_“…n’t worry, Takumi. I won’t. I’ll alw…ct…u.”_

He felt reassured. Safe. Loved. This was one of his beacons of light that he never wanted snuffed out. Her embrace was what he wanted every day. Her attention is all he sought. He loved the feeling of warmth that emanated from her. He never wanted to leave her side.

* * *

“All right, class. Welcome and good morning. I hope you’ve all had a great night’s sleep last night. Please take out your journals for this morning’s assignment. The questions are already written on the board. I’ll give you about twenty minutes to answer them.”

The classroom was quiet save for the passing mumble of some chatty students and sounds of pages being turned or things being taken out of bags. Since he already had his journal out, Takumi went ahead and opened it to a page, dating the sheet and reading the questions the instructor left upon the board. The questions weren’t weird like they were the other day; this one was more passive and general thought focused instead. To be honest, he didn’t really need the full twenty minutes allotted, never had when they were prompted to take out their journals to write in.

As expected, he finished answering the three questions in his personal, record time. With some time to spare in this relative silence, he took out a book from his bag and leaved through the pages until he saw his bookmark and easily turned to it. It was titled _The Archer and his Love_ ; it was originally written by a woman who only called herself Mitama. There were multiple translated copies of this novel, however, he had purchased the authentic version. It was in the old language he could speak and understand. Apparently, historians and grammarians who majored in linguistics dissected the obsolete language, calling it “Old Hoshidan,” and were able to translate and transliterate any recovered documents from ancient times. However, not many were able to use it let alone speak it. There were some few and far between that could and have tried, but not as fluently. As before, Takumi prided himself on being the only one—in his own book—that knew of it and could speak it without trouble. There were classes dedicated on learning how to speak Old Hoshidan, literally called Hoshidan 101.

Back to his book, it was a fantasy type, a genre he usually avoided reading, but this one had garnered his attention. For one, it was about an archer and he was an avid fan of the bow, or as it was called in Old Hoshidan, the yumi and formally called kyūjutsu. He considered himself lucky the university supported archery as a sport and he gladly took up the class for himself. The archer in the story was named Kisaragi and it was shown that he was destined to wield the Fujin Yumi, one of the relics of Ancient Hoshido. The protagonist was shown to have undergone serious struggle to using the sacred bow in his youth, trying to live up to his father’s image, but felt he was short all the time.

One day, he was out hunting when he had seen an injured girl in the forest. Kisaragi helped the girl and it turned out she had amnesia. She could remember her name and it was Kana. She thanked him for saving her, but the moment was ruined when soldiers from a far off place found them and cornered them. The protagonist fended off the soldiers and he offered her to stay at his place since she had nowhere else to go. The introduction and slight of the first chapter had captured Takumi’s attention and he couldn’t put the book down after that. Throughout most of the book’s tale, Kisaragi went through development, from a cheerful youth who was burdened with an inferiority complex, to a young man who could accept himself for who he was. But the constant presence in his growth was the deuteragonist, Kana. She eventually became his reason for wanting to improve not only his skill in archery but as a person.

So far, Takumi was up to the last few chapters of the novel. The last one had revealed Kana being a half dragon, the daughter of a powerful sorceress, who turned out to be the antagonist of the story, having influenced the meeting of her daughter and the protagonist. She was revealed to have been the cause of Kana’s amnesia and that she had been using her as a pawn the entire time. She had eventually led them to her so she could steal the Fujin Yumi’s power. This in turn would kill the wielder connected to it. The sorceress had managed to drain more than half the Fujin Yumi’s power and Kisaragi had fallen, having been put into a comatose state. Right now, it was up to Kana to save him.

It was a great novel so far, he admitted. The story detailed some things about the Fujin Yumi, stating it created its own bowstring and arrows, and those were made of wind magic essentially. He didn’t know if this was true or not; most, if not all, fantasy novels are based around real-world things, and the Fujin Yumi is one of those. Was it possible the sacred bow had this ability?

Completely enraptured by the story, and wanting to get to the action phase of the fight between Kana and the sorceress, Takumi almost missed when the instructor told everyone time was up. A little disappointed he couldn’t finish the page he was on, he tucked in his bookmark and put it away. There was always lunch time to finish it, he reminded himself.

“All right, class. For today’s lesson, we’ll be learning about the history of Dragon Veins. Yesterday we had briefly went over what Dragon Veins are. We’ll be doing some reading so please take out your textbooks and turn to page seventy-three.” Sounds and shuffles of papers here and there and books being brought onto tables filled the room. The instructor was writing on the board as she continued speaking, “The first question is, ‘what is a Dragon Vein’? Can anyone answer that?” A hand went up and the student was called upon.

“A Dragon Vein is a power that only Nohrian and Hoshidan royalty could use. It’s a power passed down from having dragon ancestors.”

“Correct. Dragon Veins are powers inherited from having dragons of old as ancestors. It was potent in royalty from both nations. The Dusk Dragon for the Nohrian royals and the Dawn Dragon for the Hoshidan royals. Dragon Veins are said to be anywhere in the world but only those of the old, royal lineage are able to sense them and utilize them,” the instructor carried on, writing down bullet points for the students to take notes, “The range in what the Dragon Vein does varies from situation to situation. In one way or another, Dragon Veins could alter the surrounding area around them. From creating rain, to freezing water, to shifting the wind’s current to creating healing areas for allies. It was essential for both armies to have at least one royal leading them to alter the tides of battles. The blood of the dragons runs deeply in the royal line and is inheritable through their children.” When she stopped writing her bullet points on the board, she turned and saw someone else had their hand up. “Yes?”

“Is it true that the current royal family of Nohr and Hoshido can use these Dragon Veins?” Mostly everyone had their attention on this student when he spoke up. Others were swapping between him and their teacher. “I mean, this power can transcend literal time by so many descendants, right?”

“Good question. However and unfortunately, the current royals of our time cannot utilize the Dragon Veins. We will cover why that is soon. In the meantime, you are right. The power will never dwindle so long as there are descendants from the true lineage. The royal line now are descendants of previous royal retainers.” She tapped her desk and went to reach for her textbook. “All right, is everyone on page seventy-three?” A collection of nods and short responses answered her and she continued, “Good. Let’s start off with the first paragraph…”

‘ **Sing with me a song of conquest and fate, the black pillar cracks beneath its** **weight. Night breaks through the day hard as a stone, lost in thoughts all alone** ’

Just about everyone in class had paused in what they were doing to turn towards where the upbeat ringtone was coming from. Takumi blushed, embarrassingly going through his bag to silence his cell from buzzing and ringing. The instructor halted her lesson and stared in his direction, a look of disappointment on her face.

“I assume you’ll be sharing your music with the rest of the class, Mr. Matsuba?”

“Er, no Professor,” he replied bashfully. Once glancing at the screen he frowned. “I need to step out to take this.” Excusing himself, he quickly made for the exit and once outside the classroom, he answered.

“Hello?”

“ _Hello, this is Aina Tatsuko from Shiro City Hospital. May I speak with Takumi Matsuba?_ ”

Oh. “This is him, how can I help you, Ms. Tatsuko?”

“ _Mr. Matsuba, we’re calling on behalf of our patient named Kamui that was admitted to our hospital yesterday morning. She’s made a full recovery and we’ve given her the all-clear for pick-up. Your number was given to us for emergencies if I’m correct?_ ”

“Yes ma’am, that’s right. So, she’s ready?”

“ _That’s right, sir._ ”

“Okay. The only thing is that I’m in the middle of class and I won’t be able to get there until a little after noon. Is it all right if she stays there for a couple hours?”

“ _Certainly, it’s no problem. We’ll have her sitting in the waiting room. There’s more paperwork to fill out when you get here in her stead, to my understanding, you said you would be able to assist us in that endeavor. Is that correct?_ ”

“Yes ma’am, that’s right.”

“ _Great. We’ll see you soon, then, Mr. Matsuba._ ”

“Thanks.” Takumi sighed when the other end of the phone clicked, signaling the lady had hung up. Perfect. To be honest, he had no idea why he volunteered himself to help out Kamui. She was just a stranger, but for some reason, he couldn’t think of her as one. Nothing about her was familiar, but her presence was achingly similar to something he’s felt before. He wasn’t sure what it was about, but he couldn’t simply ignore it. Besides, she seemed just like him when he was first found in this city. Lost, confused, hurt, and unable to communicate with anyone. In that way, he sympathized and wanted to reach out despite he felt he _shouldn’t_ get involved.

In his heart, this was the right thing to do. Helping out someone in need. His family would be proud of him. If it were anyone else, he likely wouldn’t have bothered. Running his hand through his bangs once, he tucked his cell in his pocket and reentered the classroom again. Looks like he’ll be skipping out on reading and practice today.

* * *

_“Azura, is there really no other way?”_

_“I don’t know, Kamui. We can try to search for him, but who knows if we’ll find him.”_

_“But, we have to try! Maybe we can ask Shura…”_

_“It’s worth a try then. We’ll have to travel to Hoshido, however…”_

_“I know. I know we’re not exactly welcome there, but Shura is rebuilding Kohga around Mokushu, where it originally was. Maybe we should try going by foot than use other methods.”_

_“Even though the war is over, we’ll need to be careful. Peace will come, but not immediately. Revengeful people may target us in their grief.”_

_“…Yeah.”_

* * *

Kamui sighed as she sat in another room, separate from the first room she was admitted in. The hospital staff had been informed of her name, like Takumi had said, and while they spoke her name very strangely, she could make out what they were saying. They knew she couldn’t speak their language and opted to use gestures to convey their messages. It helped so much though, but they managed. She had been given food earlier to replenish her lost strength; it tasted all right. Then again, she was famished so she didn’t really care what it tasted like. She did as Takumi told her. She was staying put until they cleared her out, whenever they would.

This morning they had frightened her with this instrument that looked similar to a needle. In fact, it felt like a sewing needle but it was sapping her blood from her arm! In panic, she had wildly threw them off and, well, it didn’t go so well. It had taken a few other doctors to restrain her down while they took her blood from her. While they had been successful of that attempt, she had surprised them by knocking off three of the four others holding her down with pure strength alone.

That had been the signal that she was doing well in recovery. In fact, it might be the reason they appeared to be letting her go so soon. She felt a little embarrassed for doing that and she hadn’t meant to do that to them.

The injuries she sustained were healing just fine and she didn’t look as pale as before. Her belongings were returned to her and strangely enough, they had provided her a new change of clothes. The new clothes were very plain looking. In fact, they reminded her of clothes she would see Nohrian commoners wear. Not like she was above wearing clothing like these. They looked like a simple shirt and pants—odd. She’d never worn pants before. Actually, women never wore pants. Only skirts and dresses. This was… Awkward. Not only that, but they had given her what looked like sandals.

As awkward and uncomfortable as it was, she didn’t want to disappoint the kindness of these people. She slipped on the clothes and had issues with the sandals, but eventually managed. Her armor was dented and it looked like they had to cut through the metal plates to free her from it. In other words, it was useless and unusable. With a grimace, she had them thrown away, except for her blouse, stockings and cape. Those could be salvaged at the very least.

Thankfully her Dragonstone was present and not damaged in any way. She wouldn’t know what to do without that. The staff had mistaken it for a strange rock, but hadn’t thrown it out. She was glad they weren’t suspicious of it, otherwise she probably wouldn’t have gotten it back. The book she carried with her was a Wind tome, one that her brother, Leo, had lent to her. She was practicing magic last time and he was teaching her. The tome she had was one of the easiest to master, and as a Nohrian royal, she should be learning how to utilize it. Camilla and Elise could use magic and she had been interested in it herself, so it wasn’t a waste of time. However, they appeared to have confiscated her vulneraries and medicines, which was unfortunate. It was unlikely she would get those back.

Kamui leaved through her wind tome, reading the enchantments and verses that were written neatly on the pages. They had led her into the new room, much bigger than hospital ones, and other people were sitting around, appearing to wait for something. There were children and teenagers as well, and they were all dressed similarly to how she was. Without her armor, she felt helpless. Although there seemed to be no signs of enemies, such as other soldiers, who knew if they were simply in disguise? She may have her stone and tome, but her main worry was her sword, the Shadow Yato.

She had tried asking, but the people that came to her couldn’t understand her at all. She had forgotten they couldn’t comprehend and wound up groaning in frustration.

Glancing up, she had seen a clock of sorts hanging on the wall adjacent from her, ticking away. The small hand was at the twelve and the larger one was at the one. The numbers here, thankfully, seemed to be universal, so the time could be told: it was 12:05. The only thing was if it was in the morning or afternoon. Her guess was the noontime, considering it was early morning when they woke her up for the meal and then that horrific moment of taking blood from her. Sitting here doing nothing was a little boring, but she would manage. Maybe Takumi would visit her again.

In the back of her mind, she wondered if this man was named after the Hoshidan brother she had lost. She couldn’t exactly put a face to him, considering she’d never seen him or any picture of him anyway. Azura’s retelling of his nature was all she could go off of. According to that, this Takumi didn’t seem as kind and caring, but he had that quality about him that drew her in. Maybe it was his presence that tickled her fancy. As soon as she remembered Azura, she frowned and sagged her shoulders.

She missed them. Her family and friends. She was in Hoshido with no way of recalling how she got here. Sure, she wanted to come here to meet with Shura. He was far more acquainted with the shadows of Nohr and perhaps he knew some connections that could help her find the missing Hoshidan prince. It was worth a try. But now, she was stuck in an unknown city in her birth nation with no way to get out. Who knew if Queen Hinoka knew of her location? Did she know? Was she informed?

Lost in thought, she pondered everything she knew until she felt a tap on her shoulder. Glancing up, she saw amber-colored eyes and a familiar face; the man she had previously thought of!

“Takumi,” Kamui said with a smile, “You came back.”

“Of course, you dork,” he replied casually. “I wouldn’t leave someone like you by yourself in a place you don’t even know. That would be heartless.” His words brought her comfort knowing he cared even if they just met. She was grateful of his consideration of her well-being. However, now that he was here, what did that mean?

“Thank you for coming back, but um, why are you here anyway?”

Takumi raised a brow and said, “Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to pick you up. Get you out of here.” Oh! Her confusion instantly transformed into delight and she rose from her seat in a swift manner. He chuckled at her action. “Looks like someone’s ready to go.”

“Oh, you know it. I’ve been ready to get out of here. With all these contraptions here that I’ve never seen before… And these clothes. I’ve never worn pants before, they feel awkward and far too large for someone like me. I’ve been trying to get to Mokushu.”

Takumi gave her an odd, perplexed look before beckoning her to follow him out of the hospital doors. People had also given them strange looks when they were conversing but she didn't mind. However, as soon as she stepped outside, she thought she would have a heart-attack on the spot.

What in the world?!

There were buildings nearly everywhere almost as tall as Castle Krakenburg and Shirasagi, from the left to the right. There were two separate paths of roads, she wasn’t sure, with people walking on one side and then these…carriages that seemed to move by themselves at a faster pace than a horse! There were roars of something that startled her silly! There were also some people on these things with only two wheels. How was that possible? Just across the road, there was something like a streetlamp, but it flickered lights from a red one to a green one! What matter of sorcery was this!? Kamui had stayed frozen in her stupor, unable to hear anything around her. What was this place? Was she in some kind of hypnotism? Had she finally gone mad?

“Kamui! Hey! Earth to Kamui, are you there?”

Oh, that was Takumi’s voice!

Startled even by that, the Nohrian princess squeaked and turned sharply to face him, having to look up a little due to slight height difference. He was staring her down, waving a hand in her face to garner her attention. When he had her undivided attention, or parts of it, he grinned.

“That’s better. What happened? You just up and froze there.”

“…I… I don’t…” She stammered, collected herself and then spoke quietly while pointing, “ _What_ are those?!” Takumi followed her line of sight and where she was pointing at and both of his eyebrows shot up behind his bangs. Was she serious? Rather than questioning her sanity, he answered her back, biting back his incredulity.

“Those are cars. You know, the automobiles people drive them to get from Point A to Point B?” If anything, his response hadn’t help her. Kamui’s shocked expression remained before it was eclipsed by one of absolute befuddlement, followed by a deep frown.

“A ‘kar’?” She repeated, testing out the new word, “It looks like some kind of carriage that goes just as fast as a horse, maybe faster, and is g-going by itself!”

“…That’s essentially what it is in layman’s terms, if you want to put it that way,” Takumi said while rubbing the back of his head. Gods, was she purposefully sheltered her whole life? Had being held captive for so long deprive her of the normalcies of life? Jeez. Sure, carriages still existed today but cars mainly replaced them. If she was having such a culture shock now, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like when they entered the town proper of the city where _everything_ was festive almost year-round. It was a good thing he lived separately from there but it wasn’t too far. He usually drove his moped to and fro to save gas on his car, but he needed it to pick up Kamui and take her home. Surely her family were worried for her.

“Come on, let’s go.” He beckoned her to follow and she did.

“W-Where are we going?” She hoped they would be walking but at the same time, curiously wanted to see what was inside those “kar” things. How advanced was Hoshido compared to Nohr anyway? Had these things always been here and she never knew? Then again, she hadn’t really traversed the entire country so perhaps it was likely they did.

“I’m taking you home.”

“Oh.” Kamui blinked then shook her head. “No, wait! I can’t go back home! I need to get to Mokushu!” Takumi had slowed down but hadn’t stopped walking. He did eye her curiously though.

“Why do you need to go there? It’s mostly a deserted forest that’s on the edge of the city of Kohga.”

Wait, huh? Kohga is a city? Shura had told her it was a kingdom that was razed to the ground by Mokushujin, led by their daimyo, Kotaro. It had only been half a year since the surviving Kohga ninja left Nohr to begin rebuilding his homeland. How had that man cultivated a city in just four weeks’ time?! That didn’t make any sense, either! In fact, few things were starting to add up strangely.

“No… I heard Kohga was a kingdom, it was going to be rebuilt by a former ninja named Shura. How can that be a city so quickly?”

Takumi stopped in front of a pale blue car, finally turning to Kamui and frowned deeply. This was getting strange, stranger than he would like to admit. This woman couldn’t be serious. Shura was the name of one of the daimyos of newly rebuilt Kohga Kingdom. In fact, he was stated to be a survivor of the Kohga massacre and after the war between Nohr and Hoshido, he had gone to rebuild his homeland. Other survivors eventually pitched in and then word spread and more helpers came along. Eventually, many centuries later, it evolved into a large city, just like Shiro City.

Kamui’s information was extremely outdated. This was growing far too suspicious. What sort of information had she been fed all her life? Why had her captives stunted her growth and knowledge? She seemed to be well off physically, so it seemed they cared enough about her, but she seemed so uneducated. And, even with the things she knew, it just felt off. Something about her was totally _off_. Takumi couldn’t put his finger on it. But one thing was for sure, he hoped she at least remembered where she lived.

“…I think I should just get you home, Kamui,” he eventually said, opening the car door and gesturing for her to get in. If she thought these were “faster-than-horses-carriages” then maybe she remembered how to get into carriages. Hopefully.

Kamui blinked and paused where she was, staring at Takumi, studying his neutral expression before frowning herself. Did he not know this? What was going on? Something seemed really odd here. Still, he was offering her a ride and she shouldn’t refuse the kind offer. Plus, it was a “kar” thing, something she had wanted to see the inside of. Up close, it seemed kind of intimidating but she inched forward, clutching her Dragonstone and tome closely to her chest. She knew Takumi was watching her, observing her, and she didn’t want to waste his time. He did come back for her after all.

It was completely awkward when she got in—actually, she got in wrong on the first try. He had to help her get in and then explain to her what a seatbelt was when she questioned it. Then, the action of him slipping it on and fastening her to the seat with it. It was just uncomfortable—it was leather, too. He had closed the door after she was settled in and he entered on the other side, eyeing her curiously and she stared at him back. The inside of it was…wow. All the buttons and the strange other stuff she saw inside of it.

In fact, she was tempted to touch that one that just lit up…

“Don’t touch anything,” Takumi reprimanded her sharply just as her hand was hovering over the “glowing green” button. Quickly, Kamui retracted her hand abashedly, lowering her head in slight shame. Soon, the same roar she heard earlier was back and she nearly jumped in her seat. She instantly felt his hand on hers.

“Calm down, it’s just the engine.”

“Th-the what?”

“The engine.”

“…W-What’s that?”

“…Um, it’s how the car can get started and to go.”

Oh. So, it was this “in-jin” thing for the “kar” to go on its own. Okay, that’s no problem. It was downright terrifying but, hey, she’s seen and heard worse. Literally. From transforming into a dragon, to a mysterious world through water and the Bottomless Canyon to fighting invisible enemies to King Garon’s true form, this should be a piece of cake. Key phrase here was _should be_. Kamui nervously followed as Takumi lifted his hand from hers to this stick thing in the “kar” and adjusted its place before his feet had shifted, too. Then, somehow, the thing was going by itself. She took a deep breath and held onto the edge of her seat, anxiously looking out the windows and saw other “kars” speeding by. Gods!

From her perspective, it looked like Takumi was steering the thing like how a driver steers the horse to move the carriage. Was it similar? She couldn’t tell. The “kar” ride was beginning to give her goosebumps, far more than that windy hell that was Fuga’s castle could ever give her. Nausea was creeping up on her and she shut her eyes tight.

Even though he was in the slow lane and only going 45 mph, Takumi could tell that the car ride was giving his passenger motion sickness. Maybe she wasn’t used to such speed before. But then again, horses can go much faster than the speed he was going. It seemed pointless to try and wring information from her. Stopping at his place might be the best medicine for her to recover and they’d try again later.

“Hey, hang in there. We’ll stop at my place so you can rest,” he assured her. Though, when it looked like her face was turning a slightly different shade, he groaned irritably and added, “And please don’t vomit in my car. I just got this thing washed two days ago!” He barely saw Kamui nod slowly but continued to keep her eyes closed. She was praying the whole way there that she would get there in one piece.

* * *

_“What are you doing there, Takumi?”_

_“Hi Sister! I’m getting ready to watch Mother practice kyujutsu! She’s gonna teach me how to use the yumi!”_

_“Really? That’s wonderful. Can I come with you and watch?”_

_“Yeah! I want you to watch me practice! Come on, Sister!”_

_“Okay, okay. I’m coming along!”_


	4. The Way I Know Differs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. The action will come next chapter, so enjoy. ;)

_“Brot…! …othe…yoma, look…t…e. Am I…ng…ght?”_

_“…es. We…ne…kumi. Come…ld…ur…nai this wa…llow my lead.”_

* * *

Takumi stopped and parked the car in front of the Shirasagi Apartment Complex, where he stayed. The transition of the ride wasn’t as smooth as he expected it to be. Kamui was freaking out the entire way here and he been debating on his decision on bringing her to his apartment the moment he offered. It was odd; he’d never invite anyone over unless they were friends or family and even then, they were very few and far between. Randomly doing this for a stranger, let alone a potentially unmarried woman he had just met, regardless of their situation, didn’t sit well with him on a technical level. Yet, he did it without too much thought put into it. Who knew if Kamui was a serial killer or a robber? Or, maybe she was a Nohrian crossing over from the country illegally? He didn’t know her and yet he was compelled to help her anyhow. His tactical, intellectual mind couldn’t quite comprehend his impulsive actions made then.

However, he wouldn’t take them back. As awkward as it was for him inviting Kamui to his place, there was a meaning for it. For one, he needed information about her that he couldn’t provide the hospital. Where she lived, for one, so he could take her home. Browsing the web and D-searching for it would make their lives faster. Second, she needed to calm herself. The car ride had definitely riled her up.

From panicking of another car getting too close to his to thinking he would hit someone on a bicycle when they were crossing the street—and they never had the right-away in his opinion as their light was clearly _red_ , but the bicyclist didn’t seem to care about his own life insurance. It was an abrupt stop that had the former hospital patient yelling out at him to “watch out for that person!” right in his ears. It was quite aggravating that his passenger became a backseat driver of sorts during the ride. It could have been worse.

Oh wait, it _had_.

Kamui’s motion sickness got the best of her and she had thrown up in his seat. Perfect. Grimacing at the thought of taking his car to the carwash again, they safely made it to his place. His face was deeply set into a frown and she had apologized over and over for her action. In fact…

“I’m so sorry, Takumi. I didn’t mean to-”

“Look, I said it was fine.” He interrupted her umpteenth apology with a bitter extraction of his previously stated acceptance. It was clearly everything but fine but he wouldn’t pit the whole blame on her. “I’ll just have to get it cleaned.” He honestly wanted to blame her for it, but he wouldn’t. It wasn’t the right thing to do, although that didn’t mean he couldn’t be upset for it.

“But, you’re still upset with me.”

“Damn right I am… I-I mean, not at _you_ but just the-ugh, whatever. Just don’t worry about it, okay?”

Kamui didn’t say anything else nor did she seem convinced. She looked conflicted about the ordeal. It was true he was annoyed but there wasn’t anything he could right now. Takumi got out of the car from his side and went around to open her door to let her out.

“Come on, don’t stay in there any longer. I’ll… I’ll clean it, all right? Let’s get inside for now, the snow’s about to come down again.” He nodded to the seatbelt. “You remember how to undo that?”

“Um, I think so,” she replied and quickly fiddled with the buckle. She recalled the memory of him showing her, in a swift manner, how to unfasten herself and how to fasten it again. She just had to press this black button over the buckle and it would free her. The simple task was done and the leather belt over her shoulder and waist were recoiling back to their natural place. This would never cease to amaze her, she thought to herself.

“Good, come on.” Takumi offered his hand to her and she took it, being led out of the car and thankfully not stepping into her own vomit. The door was closed and he activated his car’s alarm. This startled Kamui and he quickly guided her away from it.

“It’s just the car’s alarm.”

“This thing has an alarm on it, too? How is that possible?”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, “Many cars are manufactured with alarms built in. It helps with warning the owner if there’s an emergency.”

“Oh? How so?” Her question caught him slightly off guard. He wasn’t quite an automobile or tech-savvy and for that, he was unsure how to word his answer. He paused for a moment, leading them to a locked gate. He punched in numbers on the gate’s key pad, eventually unlocking it. From the corner of his eye, he could tell that Kamui was also fascinated by the gate’s mechanism. Chuckling at her bemused expression to himself, he beckoned her to come with, wondering what sort of closed-in live she was forced to live to be confused by trivial contrivances. As they stepped through the gate, it closing behind them, he eventually found the words to answer her previous question.

“Well, let’s put it this way,” Takumi began, gaining her attention, “it’s like if someone were to try and open the car doors without the appropriate key, the alarm will disengage and go off. It’s very loud, so the owner can hear it and handle the issue.”

“Oh… So it’s a like a signal flare but only with noise?”

“…Something like that, yeah. If you want to relate.”

Their light conversation ended there with Kamui appearing satisfied with the response, given her silence. Takumi weaved through the apartment complex with Kamui following close behind, making sure she still had the remainder of her belongings. He noticed that she occasionally glanced skyward, probably wondering about the weather. After traversing up a flight of stairs, they reached their destination. Takumi was fiddling with his keys to unlock the door when Kamui spoke up again.

“Takumi?”

“Hm?”

“Um, do you recall seeing a sword with a purple glow around it when you found me yesterday? Anywhere nearby or something?” He didn’t pause his actions, getting the key through and opening the door within a few seconds. He didn’t bother turning to reply either.

“No. Didn’t see anything like it. All I could see was you lying on the ground and I was far too concerned for your well-being to notice anything else.” He nodded for her to go inside. “Don’t get me wrong; I helped you out because it was the right thing to do. You’re still a stranger and I’m still wary about you… But not lifting a finger would have irritated me. By the way, ladies first.”

Kamui seemed perplexed by his answer and sighed. She had such a defeated expression, he noted. Maybe that sword was apart of her elegant cosplay costume or something. Sure there was the dubbed Nohrshido Festival, but that wasn’t until much later in the month. After letting her inside, he told her she could sit anywhere and don’t touch anything and promptly retreated to his room to grab his laptop without another word. When he entered his room, he sighed heavily and shut the door, groaning as he sat on the bed’s edge and flopping back.

His headache was creeping back on him and to add more problems to his life, he was getting those weird dreams again. Well, slips of random visions, though. Last time, he faintly saw that little girl with the weird, red eyes again and she was talking to him. He was sure that the little boy’s voice he heard was his own. It sounded similar, therefore it had to be his. This time, it was the tall boy with the wild, brown hair. There was a practice sword, a shinai, in front of him. He couldn’t make out the boy’s features much, except for something small and red in the boy’s hair, holding it into a ponytail, and he was garbed in what seemed like a white kimono. He recognized those to be similar to training garments used nowadays.

Then, there was a shinai in front of him as well. From a first-person point of view, he could see his little hands grasping the hilt of the practice sword, mimicking the older boy’s movements as best as possible. During the vision or dream, whatever it was called, he felt a spark of jealousy, envy. He wasn’t sure why; he liked practicing kendo with his older brother, Isao, every now and then on the weekends when he visited the Matsuba Dojo, but he’d taken to the archery courses at Shirasagi University and excelled better in that area.

Still, to be jealous of a kid in a random dream? That was silly. Although, he was sure he thought he’d seen a kid like him before. Just where was his only question. Thinking about it, all the dreams he’s had so far collectively, had vexed him to no end. It was always the same kids, the same little boy, the same little girls, the same woman, in around the same area. The place in which he would dream about had to be the same location: inside a building far too fancy for common folk like himself. It was like a mansion, where the rich in Shiro City resided. While uncommon nowadays, the sliding doors were present in them. Sometimes, he would dream about the outdoors of the mansion.

While these dreams would cycle on specific days during the year, he had differing reactions and feelings to them; May 1st— _the brown-haired boy, always working hard and staying ahead, him feeling so envious of him but the boy always made him feel safe_ ; August 18th— _the red-haired girl, pretty and rough, but all around caring, getting her hair brushed by deft, tiny fingers_ ; March 3rd— _the blue-haired girl that was strangely out-of-place but very nice_ _and sung to him a few times_ ; April 9th— _the darling, little infant as she opened her strawberry-colored eyes and watched him intently_ ; February 19th— _the cream-haired girl with the red eyes, showering him with love and adoration, never too far and always listened when he needed her_.

Blinking his eyes open from dozing, Takumi sat up and pressed his fingers to his forehead trying to quell his raging headache to no avail. At this rate, he felt he was going to go crazy, and tried to focus on the task at hand. Helping Kamui get home, that was the main reason. First, he needed to take the medication for the headache. He hoped that his guest wouldn’t destroy anything of his while he was taking care of his business.

* * *

_“Sister! My hair is almost as long as yours! See? Ryoma helped me put it in a ponytail like his!”_

_“It’s pretty as before, little brother. Do you want me to brush it?”_

_“No way! Those are only for dollies and girls! …Well m-maybe just a little bit!”_

_“Are you sure?”_

_“Uh-huh.”_

_“So, you’re sure you don’t want me to brush it?”_

_“Yeah. I-I mean no! I want you to brush it”_

_“Okay then, sit down right here.”_

* * *

Standing around, Kamui’s eyes captured the new scenery around her. This was Takumi’s place; it was very small compared to homes of other people’s she had the pleasure of seeing when going out of Castle Krakenburg once the war ended. After stepping inside, she was immediately greeted with a small area of his…house. She wasn’t sure what to call it. To her left, it appeared be a kitchen area if that countertop didn’t look like the top of a stove. She was familiar with that, even if it looked different. There also appeared to be a taller shortage container with small pieces of paper on it.

Curious, she placed her things down and stepped into the kitchen area, giving the short room a once over before her eyes zeroed in on the papers. Seeing them up close, she noticed they were photos and each of them had Takumi in them.

The first one was of him holding a little dog in his arms, smiling. He looked very young but happy. The puppy was tiny, like a fluff ball than a puppy, but she could see the little creature’s nose and eyes in the tuff of mess. The next photo was of a lot of people, like a class or group photograph. They seemed to be children all lined up, in uniform of red and white; the girls wearing white with red ribbons and the boys wearing all red with white ribbons. It was easy to pick out Takumi in the group; his hair color stood out almost like a sore thumb against everyone’s dark reds or browns.

The third and fourth photographs appeared to be around a birthday party and there were many smiling and laughing faces of people around Takumi, apparently the birthday boy. The little puppy was at his side again, with its tongue out. Kamui chuckled when she noticed the pup had a party hat on its head. The next few photos, going to the right of the storage container, they had transitioned to an older Takumi, likely in his teenage years. As before, the pup was there, but it looked older as well.

 _He must love that dog,_ she thought, seeing all three photographs lined up together.

After those, the next set were of people she didn’t know nor recognize. However, they all appeared to be happy in some way. However, the last three photographs reminded her, strangely, of her Hoshidan siblings: A tall gentleman with dark brown hair, although short and wearing what seemed to be a suit, his face set into a small smile—Ryoma; a young woman with deep auburn hair, dressed in what appeared to be a sundress, grinning wide—Hinoka; and the last was of a lighter, brown-haired girl with a sweet, soft expression, staring adoringly—Sakura. Gasping softly, Kamui took the photographs, one by one, down from their holding place and collectively held them together. The last photo she had seen was of the dog that Takumi held in previous ones and she took it down as well.

She didn’t know why it was so compelling to turn them over, but once she did, she spotted words she could legibly read.

**Isao Matsuba, 29**

**Mie Matsuba, 27**

**Nene Matsuba, 15**

**Hinata, 6**

Were these the names of the people? Are they his siblings? And, Hinata is the name of the dog? Kamui retraced their images again before setting the photographs down on the counter beside her. Her eyes wandered around the kitchen, finding the cabinets, the silverware, the plates. Apparently, much of Takumi’s things were Hoshidan styled, with a few Nohrian utensils, which didn’t seem to get much use. Her wandering led her to the table adjacent the kitchen, which only had two chairs seated on opposite sides and shelf full of books. Curious, Kamui knelt down and reached for one of the books, one that had a green cover and opened it. Turning to a random page, she attempted to read the printed words but the words were unfamiliar to her.

It was literally written in another language. _Perhaps that odd language Takumi and the doctors were speaking, I’ll bet,_ she thought with a bitter groan, putting the text back and opting to explore elsewhere of Takumi’s abode. The Nohrian princess backtracked and spotted what seemed to be a living area of the small home, she guessed it was. There was a sofa with three available seats, another shelf full of what appeared to be square things in glass and another box thing sitting between the shelves.

Kamui carefully approached the weird box and faintly tapped on it with the back of her palm. _Ping, ping_ , a hollow echo followed after she rapped on it. It was so strange. What was this thing made of? Curiosity stealing her attention, she tapped on it again, poking it and making sure she heard correctly. Nope, still the same. Confusion written all over her face, Kamui turned to the shelves next to the strange mechanism, seeing the thin boxes that seemed like glass. She took hold of one and examined it. There appeared to be another photo within the encasing.

 _What are these things?_ She wondered, unable to read the letters printed on the photograph. Upon observation, there were several others very similar to it on the shelf. Taking another in hand, she shook them, hearing something that sounded metallic on the inside of them. How queer.

Keeping those objects in hand, Kamui stepped around a small table in the center of the small area, glancing at everything around. This was so different, brand new than anything she’s ever seen before. So enraptured with her surroundings, she didn’t notice she was being observed by a pair of eyes, watching her every movement closely. A soft clearing of a throat forced her to whirl around and reach for her Dragonstone in a heartbeat.

Exiting from around the corridor was Takumi, carrying something in between his arm, his eyes focused upon her. She tried to make it look like she hadn’t done anything suspicious but by the way his gaze had scanned his abode, noticing the misplacement of his books to the flat objects in her hand. Bashfully, she placed them on the table beside her and steadied her hand to her side.

“Sorry,” was her instant reply. She had been told to not touch anything earlier and she still did. She couldn’t help it; these objects were so brand new to her. Her curiosity got the best of her. Takumi merely shook his head and walked over to the counter near the kitchen area, silently beckoning her to come with.

“It can’t be helped. As long as you didn’t break anything,” he answered, getting the thing out between and underneath his arm, placing it on the counter. He then unlatched it open and soon there was thing window thing with a bright light to it. There were pictures on the bright window thing and Takumi appeared to be clacking on the other side of it with his hands. Kamui couldn’t help it; she needed to ask.

“What is that?”

“Huh?”

“That thing you’re banging on with your fingers. What is that? And where is that light coming from?”

Takumi went silent for a second, his fingers leaving the board thing. His pause made her pause as well. After a bit, he turned to face her, his expression set in mixture of concern and bewilderment. Seconds passed as he visually assessed her before he spoke up.

“You’re pulling my leg, right?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

He shook his head slightly. “I mean, you’re joking, right? Are you being serious that you have no idea what this is?” He angled his head towards the object he had just been banging on with his fingers. Kamui frowned, perplexed by the odd contraption just like with those “kar” things. She also shook her head and returned his gaze.

“I am serious. I have no idea what this is. In fact, there have been some strange things going on that I’ve noticed since I woke up here.” She took his silence as the okay to continue. “For one, the other language you and the other people know of. I’ve never heard of such a thing. Second, I want to know why you say Kohga is a city and not a kingdom in the middle of reconstruction. Third, are you sure you didn't see a sword near me? It should have been nearby.”

Takumi narrowed his eyes at Kamui, having listened to her ramble just a bit. She seemed way out of the loop, the suspiciousness of it all coming back to him twofold. Just from her confession alone, he clued in that she was some uneducated, Nohrian immigrant that only knew of things that have literally settled beyond time. Then she asked if he’d seen a sword by her when she was first found. This was quite unsettling. There was nothing about trying to get home on her end; it was like she was purposefully avoiding it. _Because she’s probably here illegally. If I knew where she lived or had been living, I could return her to her captors or send her back home over the border where she would be arrested for crossing over undocumented,_ he thought, eyeing her again. The thought of sending her back to her captors didn’t sit well with him. But, if she had family in Nohr, then it would be best to send her there instead.

For that fact, he brought in his laptop so they could do some searching on the web.

But, Kamui was becoming a mystery, one odd thing about her piling up slowly. That awkward, familiar feeling he got being around her returned slightly and he did his best to shake it off.

“Okay… First off, the ‘other’ language you’re referring to is called Nohrian. Its linguistics differs from Old Nohrian and Old Hoshidan, which had been very similar in the past,” he started, getting her attention, “Second, Kohga _is_ a city. It’s been that way for centuries past. It used to be a kingdom but since its conversion to a city two hundred years ago, it’s no longer considered that. Third… Again, I didn’t see a sword of yours near you when I found you.” Takumi tapped his foot and frowned. “In fact, your costume I had completely ignored in favor of helping you. I didn’t see anything outside of getting you help. Surely you could make another one that went with your costume.”

“It wasn’t a costume, it was real armor!” Kamui called back, a tad frustrated at his slight nonchalance. “My sword is real, too. And what you said doesn’t make sense. It couldn’t have been… Centuries?” She stopped talking, trying to get the information into her mind. Centuries, as in hundreds of years since Kohga was rebuilt? That couldn’t be! That can’t be right. “I must be in some hallucination…”

“Hah,” Takumi muttered bitterly, “Sorry, but this is the real deal. Your information was way outdated and not knowing about technology like this laptop? That’s very strange to me. I don’t know what your captors taught you or what you’ve learned but it’s not correct any longer. This is the year of D1216, not some medieval times. If that’s your aim, you’re sorely mistaken.”

 _What_?

Kamui blinked. That can’t be right. The year had was D0403. Apparently she voiced this as Takumi’s frown deepened and he walked into his kitchen and picked up what looked like a newer version of a calendar.

“Look here. The date. It’s December 10th of the year D1216.” He pointed it out the words right in front of her. Picking up another contraption, he seemed to switch it on and held it to her face. It was like a miniature ‘lap-top’ thing that Takumi mentioned earlier. “See here on this screen? Same date.”

Other than the fact she could barely read what it said on this “screen”, Kamui bit her bottom lip and drew back. This couldn’t be… There was no way she wasn’t, well, not in her own time? What sort of nonsense was this? Could this be a result from crossing worlds with Azura that one time? No, it couldn’t be… Something was off here. She didn’t know what it was, but it was _wrong_. Was this some sort of alternate Deeprealm? So lost in her thoughts again, she barely heard Takumi talking to her until she focused again.

“…What?”

“I said if you were all right. You went frozen and pale again.”

If in the process of figuring out she was possibly in some other Deeprealm or Outrealm than the one she was used to, then yes, she was certainly “all right.” Sort of. Shaking her head, Kamui remained still. If there was one thing she needed to know, was everything about this Deeprealm. It had to be one, now that what she knew was vastly different than what Takumi knew.

“Takumi… I think maybe I don’t belong here.” At his puzzling glance to her confession, she swallowed, eyes set firmly as she stared back. “Please, tell me everything you know.”


End file.
